The National Conference of State Legislatures has developed a free database of legislation introduced in the states related to the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act.
As of March 10, at least 594 such bills had been introduced across the nation as states make preparations to implement provisions of the reform law. The database also contains explanations of various topics that the introduced bills cover:
- Authorize/Plan/Fund: Setting up the infrastructure for implementing provisions;
- Challenging and Alternatives: Efforts to block, oppose or not participate in certain elements of the law;
- Health Information Technology: Policies to facilitate health information exchange and enhanced privacy and security of data;
- Health Insurance Exchanges: Establishment of state-based Web sites to offer small employers and consumers one-stop shopping for coverage;
- Health Insurance Reform: Establishment of a series of uniform, 50-state requirements and optional provisions;
- Medicaid: Governing the expansion of Medicaid coverage;
- Prevention and Wellness: Developing programs and appropriating state shares of $500 million in federal funds;
- Workforce and Providers: Addressing health care provider shortages; and
- Other Issues: Including potential changes to state laws covering income taxes, small business taxes and pharmaceuticals, among other issues.
The Federal Health Reform: State Legislative Tracking Database is available at
Goedert is the news editor of Health Data Management, a SourceMedia publication.Follow EBN on:
